According to my phone records, this experience was my “15 minutes of fame” (+2 minutes). It’s crazy to think that “little old me” would end up rubbing shoulders with some influential names in Hollywood. Pinch me!

I’m so very thankful that I was given this opportunity to “tell the world” my story of vegan transformation. At the same time, I was completely outside my comfort zone and super nervous. I’m extremely introverted!

Despite my fright, I wasn’t about to blow my chance to effectively speak up for the animals– especially considering that the vast majority of the Angriest Trainer’s fans are not vegan.

For this occasion, I did 100 Saadatjoo push-ups and I poured myself a little shot glass of Villa Cappelli olive oil. I didn’t want a dry mouth!

Villa Cappelli is a sponsor of the Angriest Trainer Podcast. It’s the best olive oil and has the “Puglia pinch.”

I found out about Vinnie Tortorich and the Angriest Trainer podcast because I started listening to the Rich Roll podcast. Rich had Vinnie on his podcast (RRP #12). Vinnie is not 100% “plant powered,” but he is funny and informative. Naturally, I started listening to Vinnie’s podcast, too.

Right away, I appreciated Vinnie’s acceptance of vegans. And more– I realized that the NSNG dietary approach is quite accessible to vegans. (NSNG does not necessarily mean “low-carb.”)

By following this approach for just a short time, I’ve become more lean than ever before, but without being hungry. It really does work. Check out my pages, “What I Eat,” and “#PPNSNG Kitchen” for more details.

“Put Life into Living and Do it with Enthusiasm!” – Vinnie Tortorich

A Facebook group called “Vinnie Tortorich’s No Sugar No Grains” was created for fans of the podcast. This is a place for people to support each other, share recipes, and seek advice about all things NSNG. Endurance runners and triathletes in the group discuss how NSNG improves athletic performance. It’s all about becoming “fat-adapted.”

I know this might come as a shock, but in the Facebook group, vegans and omnivores actually co-exist without killing each other. (GASP!) It’s pretty refreshing.

I joined the Facebook group 6 months ago. Initially, I admit it was a stretch for me to purposefully place myself where I knew I’d see animal-based food and read discussions about animal products on a regular basis. Although it was difficult, I joined for 2 reasons:

I wanted to add a vegan presence to the group.

I wanted to demonstrate that NSNG can be done quite easily without consuming animal products.

Over these months, I’ve found that the vegan NSNG perspective is still needed. I’ve observed that many former “plant-based” people end up going back to eating animal products as a result of listening to the podcast (in particular, bacon, eggs, and high fat dairy). This is hard to witness and makes me very sad.

In order to support other vegan NSNG fans who prefer not to see animal-based food pictures or enter in discussions about animal products, I joined with 2 others (B.J. & Ciry) to create a dedicated “Plant Powered” Facebook group. (B.J. was the happy-go-lucky Texan interviewed before me on “The Vegan Episode!!!” Check out his blog, “Living Better.”)

Honestly, I’m hoping that the supportive environment of the PPNSNG group will help stop the trend of folks returning to eating animal products. I do sincerely thank Vinnie for talking about the plant powered group and stating in his own voice that NSNG and vegan diets can go together.

Read “Fitness Confidential,” by Vinnie Tortorich and **Dean Lorey. It’s really the best way to get to know Vinnie. It’s part weight loss/fitness manual, part memoir, and part survival story. (Literally, Vinnie survived cancer and then finished “The Toughest 48 hours in Sport,” the Furnace Creek 508 Bicycle Race.)

Who knows?– It might just inspire YOU to find out what you’re really capable of. It had that effect on me!

“Fitness Confidential” – By Vinnie Tortorich & Dean Lorey

(**Dean Lorey was in the opening segment of the “The Vegan Episode!!!” (although he’s not vegan). He mentioned his upcoming new show on CBS this Fall called “The Crazy Ones.” It stars Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar. I’m planning to watch it!)

Here, I challenged myself to create a sugar-free BBQ sauce for tempeh. I was tempted to add a tablespoon of molasses, but I resisted the urge and kept this recipe strict NSNG (No Sugar No Grains). If you want to add a little bit of sweetener, go for it. I imagine it would balance out the acidity just a bit. But anyway, I consider this recipe a success. The Frank’s RedHot sauce provides a little kick.

INGREDIENTS

1 T coconut oil

8 oz thawed tempeh (slice lengthwise, then in cubes)

3 large cloves minced garlic
1 small or 1/2 large onion, sliced
1 large stalk broccoli (finely chop the stem)

Melt the oil on medium heat in a high-sided 9 1/2″ saute pan. Saute the tempeh and veggies for several minutes, then add the liquid ingredients and the spices. Simmer and reduce the liquid for about 30 minutes uncovered, stirring frequently. The sauce will bubble and splatter, so you may need to adjust the heat periodically.

SERVING

I kept the whole meal NSNG by serving this over chopped romaine leaves and under avocado slices.

Of course, this would also be quite tasty on a toasted bun. (Duh. What isn’t tasty on a bun?)